Dianakko Week 2019
by DuwangChew
Summary: It's Dianakko Week 2019, and I'm throwing my hat back into the ring. I hope you enjoy and stick around as I go through all 7 days!
1. Day 1: Star-Crossed Lovers or Soulmates

**My Chosen theme for day 1 is soulmates! Hope you Enjoy!**

* * *

"Don't worry Diana! Astrology is one of my best subjects! With your help, we'll be done with this project in a jiffy!"

Luna Nova's prodigy offered a giggle and a playful roll of the eyes in response to Akko's loud boasting. Professor Du Nord had assigned them the task of studying various forms of divination spells and writing up a report detailing their results. Honestly Diana had intended on completing the project by herself but that all changed when her professor announced they could work in pairs. It must have been mere seconds before Akko had raced over to her seat, sparkles in her eyes. Of course there was no way Diana was going to say no after that. Besides, Akko had become rather diligent in her studies as of late, and Diana found the two of the actually worked quite well together.

She recalled a few of her classmates being rather stunned when she so readily accepted. In a way she couldn't blame them. Afterall, her close friendship with Akko was more of a recent development. Once the noir missile crisis was over, things changed between the two young witches. It's amazing how easily one gets to trust another once they've stopped a world ending threat together. As frightening as the event was, Diana guessed she owed it a level of thanks. Her friendship with Akko had become rather important to her, and she wouldn't have it, at least not as easily, were it not for impending doom.

What was that saying? The strongest bonds were born out of turmoil? It was something to that degree, but Diana couldn't quite remember it. A Diana of the past might have been annoyed by that, but if the Diana of now had learned something from her brunette friend, it was that sometimes it was okay to not sweat the small stuff. The excitable witch in question walked happily alongside her as the two continued on their way back to her dorm. They had gone to borrow several needed astrology texts from the library, as well as some supplies from their professor.

"_I really need to remember to buy a new scrying mirror,_" Diana thought off handily to herself.

Eventually they reached the blue team's dorm, and Diana opened the door for her friend.

"After you, Akko," Diana said with a smile.

"Why thank you my lady Cavendish," Akko said, with an exaggerated posh accent. "How very gentlewomanly of you."

For some reason, Diana felt something in her chest tighten as Akko said 'my lady Cavendish.' Figuring it was best to ignore that for the time being, Diana enter the room after Akko, and quietly closed the door behind her. As she turned around to face the room proper, the sight that greeted her didn't surprise her in the least. She had to suppress a giggle as Akko threw herself onto her couch with an exaggerated sigh. Thankfully Akko had the sense to set down the many books she was carrying before doing so.

"You know Akko, I may only be a student like yourself, but that doesn't look like working on our project to me," Diana teased as she sat opposite of her sprawled out friend.

"Well yeah, we just got out of class Diana! It's the weekend! We should take a bit of break first!" Akko argued.

"Akko, classes let out more than an hour ago."

"Okay but we went to the library and to Chariot's office right after. Still totally felt like we were working."

"What happened to finishing this project in a jiffy?"

Akko rolled over onto her stomach and turned her head towards Diana.

"We will! Which is why we have time to relax!" Akko said with a bit of smugness. This time, Diana couldn't suppress the laugh she felt bubbling up. Only Akko could find such logic so sound.

"Counterpoint," Diana said. "If we complete the assignment now, won't we have more time to relax later?"

Akko let out another exaggerated groan but conceded Diana's point. "Yeah I know. But you're buying us icecream later!"

"Deal," Diana said, satisfied. Forget all her debate training. Winning an argument with Atsuko Kagari was all Diana needed to prove she was a master of words.

As Diana got to work opening books and laying out things to write notes with, Akko sat up and lightly smacked her cheeks in an attempt to get into her, "focused mode," as she had once put it.

"Alrighty! I'm ready to work!" Akko declared confidently. "What, uh, should I do first?" her early confidence sure didn't last. Diana raised an eyebrow at her friend. She had a sneaking suspicion about something.

"Akko, you are aware of what we have to do for this project, right?"

Akko let out an awkward cough and suddenly found the wall of the room quite interesting.

"Of course I do," she said somewhat indignantly.

Suspicion confirmed. Akko had no idea. Diana figured she probably only tuned into Professor Du Nord's words the second she said 'partner up,' and hadn't heard much else. Diana found that she didn't care all that much though. That just meant Akko was excited to have her as a partner in this didn't it? That she was excited to spend more time with her. The tightness in her chest from earlier returned. Thankfully, Akko shook her from her thoughts before she could ponder on it.

"If did need a refresher though, which I don't! What were we supposed to do again?" Akko said sheepishly, turning back to face Diana.

Figuring that was about as much pride she was gonna get Akko to swallow, she took out her notes from class.

"Professor Du Nord has instructed us to select three different divination rituals and record our findings once we've properly conducted them," Diana explained.

Akko tilted her head slightly in confusion. "Wait a minute. Don't we need stars to do that?"

Diana shook her head. "While many astrological divinations do require observation of the patterns of the stars, there are several that do not."

Flipping through one of the books they borrowed, Diana stopped on a page and turned the book towards Akko. "Palm reading, for example, uses the natural lines of one's hand in combination with magic to predict certain things about their future life."

Akko had begun reading the book Diana had handed her, but snapped her attention up the second she heard Diana say "future."

"Woah! Can you really tell someone's future? I thought divinations, was more like, suggestions of destiny and stuff. Like the one we practiced in class." Akko asked.

"Well you are correct in a sense. No divination can one hundred percent tell someone's future, but the more powerful the spell, and the more concrete the ritual is, the more certain one can be. Star-scrying is on the lower end of the spectrum in this sense," Diana explained.

Akko sure seemed eager to try out a divination now. "Well then what are we waiting for? Let's tell some futures!"

And with that the two launched into their assignment. It wasn't a terribly difficult one, so they were making good progress. It seemed that Akko's early boast of "finishing in a jiffy," was looking to be a reality. The most time consuming part of the project, if anything was the setting up of each ritual. Diana had tried to steer them clear of any particularly difficult and powerful spells, but even the midrange ones required a fair bit of precise preparation. Still, one palm reading and one water gazing later and the two witches were close to wrapping up their assignment. Akko had gone back to laying down on the couch, her feet kicking in the air idly as she thumbed through a book on plant divnations, looking for their last target. Diana was looking through a larger, much older tome. This one seemed quite focused on soul divination, reading one's very magical energy to obtain a glance at the future. The concept was intriguing for sure, but most of the spells in the book were very high level. Most of these could only be done by a heavily accomplished astrologer. Professor Du Nord herself might even struggle with some.

As she flipped through the book however, something caught her eye. She hadn't really meant to linger on the page for as long as she did, but something about it gave her pause. Written in thin cursive letters at the top of the yellowing page was the words, "_Amor Meam: discovering one's soulmate._"

The spell apparently required little to no actual set up surprisingly. That being said, it did require a high level of soul bending ability. For the spell to work the caster had to practically connect themselves to the world's leylines. When it was successfully done, it would allow the caster to sense others magical energies. Which ever one felt the strongest to them, no matter how far away that energy was, was said to be their destined love. It was certainly an...interesting prospect, but surely not one Diana had any need for, right? As she thought this, she found herself looking up at Akko. The heart started to race with a vengeance. Quickly Diana turned her gaze back to the book. Nope, this spell was not useful to her at all. Besides, it was probably too difficult. It was best to turn close the book and simply forget-

"Woah!" Came Akko's voice, suddenly from over Diana's shoulder.

Diana felt her heart leap into her throat as she turned around startled.

"Akko! Wh-what, where...when did you!?" Diana stuttered uselessly, a crimson blush beginning to paint her face.

Akko, to her credit, seemed to make sense of her startled friend's babbling. "You were reading really intenly a few seconds ago, so I wanted to see what about."

An excited sparkle entered Akko's eye as she picked up the book that Diana now realized she had flung in her panic.

"Can this spell really tell you your soulmate? That's so cool!" Akko squealed a bit excitedly before turning back to face Diana. She knew exactly what her friend was about to say. "Diana! We gotta try it!"

Thankfully Diana had a bit of time to recompose herself, and was ready with an answer. "I'm afraid that wouldn't be a very good idea Akko," She tried to ignore the deflated expression on the Japanese girl's face. "It's a very high level spell. One that I'm not even confident I could pull off."

Akko however, wasn't going down without a fight. "Oh come on Diana! You're the best witch in our grade, hell probably the whole school! If anyone can pull it off it's you!"

"I don't know Akko. Soul bending is rather tricky, it's-"

"Please Diana! Can't we at least try? Don't you want to know about your soulmate? Isn't that like, super romantic?"

Diana knew she had lost this argument as Akko affixed her with her best puppy dog eyes. There was no way in hell Diana was going to fill those eyes with disappointment. Damn. What had she said earlier? That she could win an argument with Atsuko Kagari? Ha! What a joke. With a resigned sigh Diana took the book from Akko's hands and laid it on the table in front of her.

"I suppose it couldn't hurt to try," Diana relented. "I could use the soul bending practice anyhow."

"Yay! Thank you so much Diana!" Akko cheered. "What should I do?"

"This doesn't really require more than one person, so feel free to sit quietly and wait," Diana said. Despite her current nervousness, a bit of playfulness made its way into her voice.

It was weird to think about, the fact that she was nervous. What was she? Did she not want to mess up the soul bending? No, that couldn't be it. This particular spell was fairly harmless. Messing it up wasn't dangerous in the least. Did she not want to disappoint Akko. No that wasn't it either, but Akko did seem to be at the center of it. Why did she immediately look to Akko the second she read what the spell did? Maybe she wanted Akko to ask her about it? Maybe, deep down she wanted to try it too.

Whatever the reason for its cause, Diana couldn't afford to focus on being nervous right now. Soul bending required a large amount of concentration. Slowly, Diana took a deep breath and drew her wand. As she felt her breathing even out and her inner energy grow stable, Diana brought her wand in front of her face and spoke at a near deathly quiet,

"Amor Meam."

The sensation the followed was strange, but not unpleasant. Diana had done some low level soul bending before, so the feeling wasn't entirely alien to her. It felt a bit like a warm hug. Once she got a hold of her own magical energy, the tricky part came next. Now she had to connect it to a leyline. Thankfully the was one fairly close to Luna Nova. Slowly Diana felt for it, searching for the surge of magical energy she knew she would feel once she found it. For a few minutes, Diana thought she had failed, and that she wasn't a strong enough soul bender to seek it out. All of a sudden, however, she found it.

If manipulating your own magical energy felt like a warm hug, then connecting it to a leyline was like stepping into a heated room after having been out in the cold. The world's magic surged through Diana's body and in that instant, she knew. She had actually pulled the spell off! Slowly, Diana opened her eyes.

For a split second, Diana feared that she somehow blinded herself. A powerful, white light shone in her eyes, blocking out nearly everything else from her vision. What was that? She soon got her answer. Gradually, the glow began to fade, and as Diana regained more and more of her vision, she realized it's source: Akko. The brunette witch eagerly watched Diana, her fist clenched in anticipation as the glow of her magical energy slowly subsided. Immediately the text of the book played back in Diana's mind.

"_Who's ever magical energy glowed the brightest was the caster's one, true, soulmate._"

"Well!?" Akko asked suddenly, ripping Diana back to reality. "Did it work!? What did you see?"

In that moment, Diana had no earthly idea how she managed to put up a semi-normal facade.

"No, Akko. It, uh didn't. I didn't see anything," Diana said.

"Whaaat? Aww man!" Akko said with a pout, crossing her arms in disappointment. "Guess you were right Diana. That spell was too tricky."

"Yes. Quite. Let's find another one, shall we?"

"Yes ma'am!" Akko said, turning back to her book.

She took no notice of how hard Diana's heart was pounding, or how flushed her face was becoming.


	2. Day 2: Rivals or Competition

For Day 2, I went with competition. Diana and Akko may be dating, but they are always ready to challenge one another!

* * *

"I hope you know I have no intention to go easy on you," Diana said, turning to her girlfriend with a sly smile.

Akko merely returned the look, a determined fire burning in her eyes. "I wouldn't want it any other way."

"Shall we then?"

"We shall!"

And with Akko's final remark, the two young witches stood ready...and began their fierce game of ski ball. When Akko had asked Diana to the town fair, she was initially worried that she would say no. Thankfully, Diana had happily agreed to the date, remarking that she hadn't had a chance to go to a fair since she was a little girl. Saturday quickly came, and the two girls found themselves walking through town passing by everything from food stalls to excited children and their families. Despite the bustling crowd, it was a rather calm afternoon and for awhile, Akko was content with simply holding her girlfriend's hand and eating some unhealthy fried food. That was until out of the corner of her eye she spotted something rather interesting.

"Hey Diana!" she said suddenly, pointing at the booth that caught her attention. "Let me win you a stuffed animal!"

Akko didn't really wait for an answer before all but yanking Diana towards the game of balloon darts. She had intended to conquer the silly carny game, scoring her lady a big teddy bear and looking totally cool while doing it. What Akko forgot is that things hardly ever go the way she plans them too. It turned out, balloon darts was a lot harder than she thought. She ended up popping a measly two balloons, and winning nothing more than a cheap plastic ring. Diana giggled at the display, playfully teasing her about the results.

"Really? That's the best you had? What happened to winning me a stuffed animal?" Diana asked with a grin.

Akko gave her a pout in response. "It's way harder than it looks Diana! Besides, I still won you something!"

Akko took Diana's hand, and slipped the plastic ring onto her slender finger.

Diana gave a bit of a contemplative hum, before responding "Not much of a stuffed animal, is it?"

Akko let out a groan as Diana laughed once more.

"It's not like you could do any better!" Akko challenged.

"Oh really now?" Diana asked, raising an eyebrow. The heiress looked over Akko's shoulder, examining the many colorful stuffed animals that hung from the top of the booth.

"Which one do you want?" Diana asked.

Akko blinked at her in confusion. "What do ya-"

"I mean, which stuffed animal do you want? I'm going to win you one and prove you wrong," Diana said confidently.

For a second, Akko look rather surprised, before quickly exchanging it for determination. Atsuko Kagari never backed down from a challenge, even from her girlfriend. It was on now. Turning around to face the booth again, Akko eyed her target.

"I want that one," she said, indicating her choice to Diana. "The big blue dragon with the purple wings."

"Done," Diana responded, strolling over to the booth and paying to play.

"What makes you so confident you can win this thing?" Akko asked, moving to stand behind Diana as she readied a dart. "I wasn't kidding earlier. It's way harder than it looks!"

Diana merely scoffed. "Please Akko. I'm English. If there is one frivolous pastime I get, it's darts."

And as if to punctuate her point, Diana threw her dart, nailing a high point value balloon. Akko watched in awe as Diana threw dart after dart, all but one hitting a maximum point value balloon. She was so stunned by Diana's victory, that she barely registered her girlfriend handing her the overstuffed creature of her request.

"There," Diana said proudly. "I hope you've thought of a good name for it."

Akko shook her head, bringing her attention back to earth.

"Okay well that wasn't fair! You totally had an advantage!" Akko complained. "I didn't know you've played darts before!"

"And that's the wonderful things about relationships, isn't it? You learn something new about your partner all the time." And with a sly smile, Diana made to continue down the street, motioning for Akko to follow her.

But Akko had been formulating a plan. She wasn't about to let her girlfriend show her up by out romanticizing her. The win your lady a prize trick was supposed to be her thing! No sir, the Kagari family pride would not stand for this injustice. Akko would get revenge.

"Hold up a sec Diana!" Akko called as she ran to catch up to Diana. "I've got an idea. How would you like to make a little wager?"

Diana stopped in her tracks. Akko smiled from ear to ear. She knew her girlfriend too well.

"I'm listening," Diana said raising an eyebrow in interest.

"We play every game booth we come across, and by the end of the day, whoever wins the most wins the bet," Akko explained.

"Oh, sounds like fun. And what do I win?" Diana asked decided to ignore the fact that Diana basically just declared herself the winner.

"Hmmm...how's about the loser...has to buy us the winner's choice of desert on the way home?"

"Deal. I hope you like crêpes," Diana said, sealing their wager with a quick kiss to Akko's lips

"And I hope YOU like frozen custard," Akko said with a huff, red staining her cheeks. "Cause that's what we're getting when I win!"

And just like that their relaxed date at the fair turned into a date of cheap, carnival game warfare. Diana had won balloon darts fair and square, so Akko was already fighting an uphill battle. Thankfully, knocking down bottles was next, and while Diana's aim with darts was impeccable, it left to be desired once a ball was put in the equation. Akko ended up destroying Diana's score rather easily.

"You English may get darts my lady" Akko said with a smug smile. "But us Japanese get baseball."

After finding that they were both equally terrible at ring toss, and coming to an agreement that the fishing game was too rigged to count, the two girls were tied as they approached the final game, ski ball. This was it, the chance to pull ahead and claim sweet victory. If Akko wanted to end up on top, she was gonna have to give it her all. As the fierce game raged on, Akko didn't even have time to look and see how Diana was doing. She was too laser focused on trying to sink a ball into the one hundred point hole.

Finally the timer to end the game rang and the two combatants stepped back from their game. Akko shivered in anticipation. Her score sat illuminated by a cheap neon red light at '845'.

"Hey Diana, What'd you get?" Akko asked excitedly.

Diana gave her a small, resigned smile before responding, "Seven hundred and fifty five. It looks like you wi-"

"I WIN!" Akko cheered, throwing her hands up in celebration. "Hahaha! Yes! Bow down to your Carnival Queen!"

Diana merely rolled her eyes, but couldn't help but laugh alongside her girlfriend in celebration. After Akko's cheers of victory calmed down, Diana took her girlfriend's hand into her own and gave it an affectionate squeeze.

"Thank you for inviting me to day Akko. I had a lovely time," Diana said. With a relaxed sigh, she set rested her head against the other girl as the made their way back to the fair's entrance.

"Well I'm glad you had fun," Akko responded with a smile. "And I'm glad that now we know for certain that I'm totally better at dumb carinval games."

Diana playfully rolled her eyes again. "Yes, yes. You've made that quite clear miss 'Carnival Queen.' Now let's go home. I believe I owe you some frozen custard."


	3. Day 3: How or When They Fell in Love

**Diana and Akko are dating, and the whole school is buzzing with gossip about how they fell in love. Diana takes time to remember the moment.**

* * *

Diana was no stranger to unwanted attention. She was raised an aristocrat afterall. More than half of her life was putting on fake smiles for annoying guests or pretending to laugh at the unfunny jokes made by some diplomat. She had thought, hoped, that that was as bad as it got. That there couldn't possibly be anything more uncomfortable than the eyes of the self important elite boring into you as they awaited a response. Unfortunately for Diana, she would be proven wrong. For she had yet to experience unfettered teenage gossip.

For whatever reason, the news that she and Akko had started dating spread like wildfire through the halls of Luna Nova. One second, she and Akko had just gotten comfortable with telling their friends and fellow students of the development. The next second they were being hounded with questions left and right. Diana wasn't one hundred percent sure of how the information spread so rapidly, but she suspected Amanda was to blame. Mysteriously, Diana couldn't seem to get her to comment.

Regardless of the cause, the whole school was alight with conversation about "Luna Nova's newest power couple." Diana cringed a bit as she recalled the title Wangari and the school newspaper had given them. Even now, as Diana entered the library in the hopes of some quiet studying, she caught wind of more of the gossip.

"It had to be something spectacular right? Something Badass?" Sarah Bernhardt whispered to her teammate Elfriede. "Like Akko must have saved her from a monster in the dungeon!"

"You think? How romantic!" Elfriede responded, a dream-like quality to her voice.

Diana couldn't help but frown as she overheard the conversation. She expected this kind of talk from Elfriede but had thought a realist like Sarah would be above this sort of gossip. She must have underestimated its allure. Everyone seemingly had their own guess as to how Diana Cavendish, school idol, witch prodigy extraordinaire, and Atsuko Kagari, the clumsy, yet loveable school troublemaker could have ever gotten together. Over the past few days Diana had heard every possible guess under the sun. From the rude, like it being a ploy on Akko's part to raise her grades, to the admittedly sweet, like Diana and Akko simply being destined to be, to the outlandish, like Akko secretly being a Japanse aristocrat arranged to marry Diana since birth. She had to admit, Sarah's monster guess was rather creative, if not the most absurd guess yet.

"It's obvious what happened! That monster Diana seduced poor Akko with some kind of family charm!" Chloé spat at her two teammates. "She couldn't handle a noname witch like Akko stealing the spotlight, so she put her under her spell!"

Okay, now _that_ was the most absurd guess yet. She knew Chloé had a low opinion of her, but by the nine that was a bit much. Diana let out a tired sigh as she tried to tune out the rest of the peach team's conversation and just focus on her studying. She really wished that everyone would just drop this whole matter. Yes, she and Akko were dating. Yes, she understood that it was unexpected. No, she didn't see why it had to be everyone's business.

She supposed all the speculation was on some level her fault, as she refused to tell anyone any kind of details that could clarify the matter. But in her defense, Luna Nova's student body had no right to know about her personal life. How she came to fall in love with Atsuko Kagari was between her and the troublemaker herself. No one else. Besides, the story was hardly as glamorous as the rumor mill made it out to be. Diana remembered it quite clearly, the day she realized she was in love.

It was on a Summer night, warm with a nice breeze. Diana was nearing the end of her night watch rounds, and her mind was already on something else. Aunt Daryl was expecting her to be home for Summer break and she was desperately trying to think of a way out of it. She had been so absorbed in thought that she almost didn't see the distinct glow of magic out by the cafeteria vestibule. Someone was breaking curfew. Realizing she might have a pretty good idea as to who, Diana let out a sigh, and steered her broom in that direction. As she flew closer, a familiar bob of brown hair and what she could only assume were Japanese curse words confirmed her suspicions. Whatever spell Akko was practicing seemed to be giving her some trouble as the brunette girl was currently hanging her head in disappointment.

Diana dismounted from her broom quietly, and began to make her way over to her troublesome friend. For whatever reason, she stopped in her tracks when suddenly Akko straightened up.

"Okay! No more mopping!" She shouted much too loud for someone breaking curfew. "I can do this. I can do this!"

Akko spun on a dime, and Diana quickly ducked behind a tree. She had no idea why she did it. Something deep inside just told her that she didn't want to interrupt Akko. Akko scrunched her face up in concentration, bringing her wand up in front of her. There was a moment's pause before Akko shouted,

"Aedificare Lucem!"

Tiny red sparkles shone at Akko's feet. Slowly they grew, larger and larger until they began to form what looked like petals. Before they could take any concrete form however, the sparkles sputtered out, and vanished.

"Uggghhh! No!" Akko groaned. "Stupid sparkles! You're supposed to be flowers!"

"_Ah_," Diana thought to herself. "_She's practicing light constructions…_"

It certainly wasn't an easy spell by any means, but with the aptitude Akko had shown for illusionary magic, it wasn't impossible for her to do. Akko seemed to think so as well, because she retook her stance, and cast the spell again. It must have been at least an hour. An hour of nothing but Akko shouting out the same spell over and over. Each time, she never got more than a bud. Yet, Diana continued to stand there, hidden behind her tree, entranced by Akko. She couldn't bring herself to look away.

So far, Akko had known nothing but failure, and yet a fire burned in her ruby eyes. A fire so bright and so hot that as Diana found herself staring into her friend's eyes, she felt it's warmth spread throughout her. Diana had never really seen Akko like this before. She had been witness to Akko's progress, but hadn't seen up close the unwavering determination it took to make it. At that moment, Chariot's motto echoed in Diana's mind.

"_A believing heart is your magic…_"

Yes, if she wasn't before, she was certain now that Akko exemplified the truth of that motto tenfold. After a dozen or so more tries, Akko grew quiet. For a split second, Diana thought she had finally given up until a loud cheer told her otherwise.

"HAHAHA! YES!" Akko screamed, having seemingly forgotten just how late it was. "I did it! I did it! Take that magic! How do you like me now!"

Akko then flopped onto her back, landing in the grass. Then, she started to laugh a bubbly, whimsical laugh. Diana turned to to where Akko had been standing moments ago and saw it. Nestled between the blades of grass was a tiny, red, glowing flower, no more than a few centimeters tall. After all that work, all that trial and error, the only light construction Akko had produced was this tiny flower. Yet as Diana took in the moonlight shining off of Akko's smiling face, she could tell the Japanese girl saw it nothing short of a victory.

In that moment, Diana couldn't help but laugh along. Couldn't help but share in her friend's elation. In that moment, Diana Cavendish fell in love.


	4. Day 4: Moving in or Living Together

**After a long day at work, Akko is looking forward to a rare dinner spent with her girlfriend. Things don't exactly turn out the way she was expecting.**

* * *

Akko let out a tired sigh as she made her way up to the door of her home. She felt herself fight back a yawn as she fumbled with her keys. If there was one thing she wished she could go back in time and tell tiny Akko, it was that there was a lot of boring, tiring work that went into being a stage performer. It's not like she didn't love her job. There wasn't anything in the world Akko would trade for her career as Shining Star. It was just that no matter how exciting the fans, the cheers and the bright lights were, meeting clients with her agent, discussing financing with her team, and long nights on the road were exhausting. Akko saw it nothing short of a miracle that she actually got out of tonight's meeting before 7:00. Not to mention, today was Diana's day off. She wouldn't be stuffed in her office at the hospital. She would be home, and waiting for her.

Akko couldn't help but smile at that fact. It meant that for the first time in over a week, her and Diana would be able to eat dinner together. Like, really eat together. No hastily ordered take out because Akko didn't have time to cook. No leaving food to be reheated because Diana wouldn't be home till late. No sir, tonight, they were going to have a proper dinner, together, homecooked, and on time! Akko smiled, her earlier fatigue forgotten. She couldn't afford to be tired anymore! Her girlfriend awaited her arrival, and would almost certainly be hungry.

Diana was far from a lazy person and almost certainly would have already had dinner waiting for her...if she had any idea how to cook. It seemed that, by Diana's own admission, living in a high class home left her rather lacking in her culinary skills. Growing up, Diana had insisted that she help with most of her chores, not wanting to be a burden. One thing that she was fine leaving up to the staff however, was cooking. Diana had told her that fire scared her as a kid, so she was never too keen on being near a stove, or anywhere in the kitchen for that matter. By the time she had outgrown the fear, she had gotten so used to having people prepare her food it had just become second nature.

Akko could tell not being able to cook bothered Diana, so she had tried teaching her...it simply ended in utter disaster. Akko tried to start simple, teaching Diana how to make miso soup using an old recipe her grandfather had given her. It didn't take a lot of steps, used relatively few ingredients, and Akko knew it like the back of her hand. What could go wrong? A lot. A lot could. For someone so knowledgeable about the intricacies of magic and spell casting, it was surprising how easily Diana overlooked details when following a recipe. Akko didn't remember exactly what happened, but she did remember Diana's panicked expression as she frantically reached for her wand extinguishing the flames that had engulfed her pot. If Akko had to hazard a guess, Diana's struggles in the kitchen were still being impacted by her fear. Sure Diana wasn't afraid of the fire anymore, but Akko had a sneaking suspicion that the very act of being in the kitchen and working with a stove frighten her girlfriend, at least on some level. She hadn't really brought this possibility with Diana yet, but it was low priority. Diana was a busy woman and had plenty of other things to worry about other than her inability to cook.

Having finally found her key to the door, Akko opened it, and entered her home.

"Tadaima!" Akko called as she stepped past the threshold and hung her coat up on the wall.

Despite having had a rather large budget when house hunting, Diana had insisted that the home be modest. Akko had thought that growing up in a mansion would mean Diana was used to a lot of space, but that couldn't be anything less than true. Hell, when Diana had first asked her to move in with her, Akko had thought she meant into Cavendish manor. Diana simply made a face when Akko had told her.

"We'll visit the manor often. After all it was my mother's home," Diana had said. "But at most it will be a… 'vacation home,' of sorts," she added curtly.

So their house ended up on the smaller end. Well, small compared to a mansion. It still had two floors, a guest room, 3 bathrooms, a fairly spacious living room, and a full sized kitchen. It was certainly bigger than the house Akko grew up in. It wasn't decorated to fancily or anything either. They owned the occasional nice thing, like the vase that sat on their mantle, or the couch by the fireplace, but for the most part the house was covered in more home decor. Pictures of family and friends sat wherever there was space and Akko would be damned if any house of hers didn't have Shiny Chariot memorabilia at least somewhere. Yes, it really was a great house...well when it wasn't full of smoke at least.

Akko had even noticed the smoke at first until an all too familiar smell hit her nose. Something was burning, or at the very least had been burning. Akko would be the first to admit she wasn't the brightest when it comes to common sense, but it didn't take a genius to put this puzzle together. She had a girlfriend who was horribly inept at cooking, a rare time in which said girlfriend was home and Akko wasn't, and large amounts of smoke billowing out their kitchen.

"Aww geez Diana…" Akko said, a bit of her fatigue from earlier returning.

"Akko!? Is that you!?" Came Diana's voice from the kitchen.

There were several loud bangs and a curse word or two before Diana appeared in the kitchen doorway. Her hair was disheveled, bangs covering parts of her face in that way they do when Diana was stressed. She was also quite sweaty and obviously nervous as she wrung her hands in front of her and tried to avoid looking back over her shoulder.

"H-hello Akko," Diana said with a waver in her voice. "I didn't hear you come in. Okaeri."

"Yeah, I'd be surprised if you could hear anything," Akko said eyeing her girlfriend with concern. "You, uh, want to tell me what happened in there?" Akko pointed over Diana's shoulder and into the kitchen.

Akko watched as the weird, forced smile that Diana had been wearing dropped off her girlfriend's face. She put her head in her hands.

"Oh Akko, it was nothing short of a disaster!" Diana said as she started to cry. "I, I thought since you're always the one preparing such lovely meals, and that we'd be home together for dinner tonight, I'd try and..." Diana trailed off as Akko moved to wrap her in a hug.

"Shhhh," Akko whispered as she softly ran her hand through her girlfriend's hair. "It's okay Diana."

"No it is not. I Hate feeling like the pampered rich girl that can't cook her own food! I wanted to prove that it's not what I am, that I could make us dinner if I really tried," Diana said, burying her face against Akko's shoulder. "All I did was make a fool of myself. I feel like a bloody idiot."

Akko frowned. Now that she wasn't going to stand for. She could handle a ruined dinner and a (most likely) destroyed kitchen, but she wasn't about to stand here and let her girlfriend bad mouth herself.

"Don't be like that Diana! What you were trying to do was really sweet!" Akko said encouragingly, tilting up Diana's face by her chin. "Even though you know you, uh, 'struggle,' in the kitchen you still tried to make something, just so I didn't have to. That's like a one hundred percent classic awesome girlfriend move."

"Do awesome girlfriends typically screw it all up?" Diana asked bitterly.

"No, but even awesomer one's don't let it get them down when the do," Akko countered.

She paused to wipe a tear from Diana's face before continuing.

"Diana, do you know how many times I used to blow myself up practicing magic? How many times I set things on fire? How many stitches I had to get in our first year at Luna Nova alone?"

Diana giggled, moving to rest her forehead against Akko's.

"More than I can count," she replied.

"Exactly! And I kept trying anyway! So if you really feel like you want to try and learn to cook, you could ruin a thousand dinners and destroy a million kitchens and I wouldn't care! And neither should you!

For a moment, Diana was silent. Then, with the trademark Cavendish sarcasm that Akko knew and loved, she responded,

"Really? A million?"

"Yes, a million," Akko responded confidently. "Just try don't try and make that a goal," she added.

The two women took a much needed moment to laugh and for Diana to regain her composure. Once their laughter died down, Akko decided that her girlfriend could really use a kiss, and considering how long it lasted, Diana agreed.

When they broke apart, Akko couldn't help herself from asking. "So what did you try and make anyway?" she asked.

Diana visibly cringed a bit. "Well, I thought I would try and prepare us some stir fry rice and beef. As you already know, the online internet video I found was not as helpful as I would have hoped."

Akko laughed a bit internally at Diana's use of "online internet video." Technology was Diana's other major Achilles heel, but one to tackle for another day.

"Thankfully I was able to catch the fire rather quickly," Diana continued. "We, may need new smoke alarms however...I may have blasted them in my panic. I didn't know how to shut them off."

Yup, for another day. Suddenly Akko realized something.

"Hey wait a minute. If you were making stir fry does that mean you-"

"Used the wok your mother sent you from home? Yes...I did."

Akko realized she must have looked as terrified as she felt because Diana quickly added

"But, I used a spell to repair the fire damage!"

Akko breathed a sigh of relief.

"All there is left to do now is clean up and repair the rest of the kitchen," Diana said.

Just then, Akko's stomach growled. Man was she hungrier than she realized.

"Sounds like a plan, but can we do it after we eat something?"

"Well I doubt you'll be able to make anything in that mess.

Akko turned to her girlfriend with a smile. "Pizza then?"

"Pizza sounds lovely," Diana said, leaning over to give Akko another kiss.


	5. Day 5: Physical Affection

**Sorry about this one being a day late! I live in Florida, so I've been busy prepping for hurricane Dorian. Unfortunately, that meant this got delayed. I hope you enjoy it nonetheless!**

* * *

When Akko awoke to the sound of gunshots she was, needless to say, extremely alarmed. Dazed and still half asleep, she lunged for her wand and pointed it directly at...the T.V. On the screen an old fashioned mobster movie played, so poor sap having just been blown away by a rival gang. Feeling the adrenaline quickly leave her body, Akko sighed and sank back against the couch. She probably looked quite silly just then, but thankfully the only other person in the room who could have seen was currently still asleep in her lap. Akko smiled as she gently ran a hand through Diana's hair. The heiress was usually a fairly light sleeper. It was a miracle that Akko hadn't woken her.

"_She must really be worn out from work…" _Akko thought to herself.

Diana had been pulling extra shifts at the hospital lately. According to her, she and Sucy were on the brink of finalizing a cure for emerald blood, a dangerous magical malady. Diana had been staying long nights and leaving early in the mornings. Akko knew the research was important to her girlfriend and if it worked, would be massively helpful to the magical community. Still, she couldn't help but wish that Diana wouldn't run herself so ragged. She was leaving herself no time to just relax, and anytime she does have she spent asleep. Like tonight. Diana had promised to take the weekend off and join Akko for a classic couple's movie night. It ended up being a more solo affair because halfway through the first movie, Diana conked out. Akko just hoped that Diana and Sucy would succeed soon, because she wasn't too sure how much more of this schedule her girlfriend could take.

"One of these days, you're gonna end up working yourself to death…" Akko whispered as she gently brushed some hair from Diana's face.

As if on cue, Diana began to stir, frowning a bit as she readjusted herself on Akko's lap.

"Diana?" Akko asked, seeing if her girlfriend was truly awake.

Diana had settled back down, and only responded with some kind of unintelligible grumble. Akko couldn't help but laugh quietly at this. Sleepy Diana was a very different person than normal Diana. Much less well spoken. Glancing over at the clock that sat under the T.V, Akko saw that it was nearly three in the morning. Probably a good idea to get to bed proper. With a flick of her wand, Akko shut the T.V off. Now came the hard part. No part of her wanted to bother Diana or the adorable sleeping face she was making, but Akko knew it was for the best. Reaching down and gently nudging Diana's shoulder, Akko tried to rouse her girlfriend from her slumber.

"Diana," Akko whispered. "Diana, wake up. We should go up to bed."

At first Diana didn't move, only to suddenly turn reach her arms around Akko's waist.

"No." was her only reply.

"No!?" Akko asked with a huff. She certainly hadn't expected that.

Still, she found it pretty difficult to stay any kind of mad at her girlfriend. When she was completely awake, Diana was much more reserved in her displays of physical affection. While the heiress certainly enjoyed cuddling with Akko on the couch, she wouldn't be so openly clingy with her, like she was being now. Akko knew that if awake Diana could she herself right now, her face would be totally red with embarrassment. Again, Akko couldn't help but laugh at that fact.

"Alright then Mrs. Sleepyhead. If you don't wanna go up to the room, what do you suggest we do?" Akko asked with a chuckle.

Diana tightened her grip on Akko's waist and buried her face against her stomach.

"Stay," She mumbled. "Stay here with me…"

"Oh alright," Akko said leaning down to kiss, Diana on the cheek. "We'll stay."

Akko took a second, against Diana's grumbling protests, to readjust the two of them on the couch. Now They lay lengthwise with Akko resting her head against the armrest, and Diana resting hers against Akko's chest. With another quick flick of her wand, Akko laid a nearby T.V blanket over the two of them.

"Goodnight Diana," Akko said quietly, gazing lovingly at the woman resting against her.

"Goodnight…" Sleepy Diana managed to respond. "...Love you…"

"I love you too."

Diana drifted off back to sleep with Akko soon joining her.


	6. Day 6: Adulthood

**Diana and Akko go to visit her family in Japan. It might just be a fun trip for Akko, but for Diana, it's a chance to ask Akko's parents for her hand in marriage.**

* * *

Few things scared Diana Cavendish. She was raised a proper witch, and witches were supposed to instil fear, command it. Not to mention she had years of aristocratic training under her belt. Trying to intimidate her was about as difficult as moving a mountain. That being said, as she stepped out of the car and followed her girlfriend to her parent's house, Diana was very afraid.

It wasn't that Akko's family scared her at all, no it was quite the opposite. What Diana was scared of, was herself. For there was a moment, a single grave mistake Diana made when she first met the Kagari family, and the fear of ever making another one had hung over her ever since. Here she was, one of the most distinguished witches of her era, the family head of one of magic's oldest and noblest clans, a fully fledged doctor at the Lady Beatrix Hospital for Magical Maladies and yet the first impression she made was that of a bumbling goofs.

The incident happened when Akko's family had flown into England to visit their daughter. Since It was Diana's first time meeting Akko's parents, she had wanted to obviously make a good impression. She had Akko tell her everything about them in the days leading up to their arrival. What was their favorite foods? What did they like to see on their travels? What was their opinions on magic? Everything but the goddamn kitchen sink. When it came time to greet them at the airport, Diana felt confident that she had the perfect understanding of who Kumiko and Hayato Kagari were. What she wasn't aware of however, was that Akko was not an only child. As Akko so conveniently forgot to explain in all the time they knew each other, she had a kid brother, two years younger than her. A kid brother who, when viewed from behind, looked remarkably similar to his elder sister, especially since Akko had just cut her hair.

Akko had gone off to buy a snack from a kiosk while Diana had patiently remained at the gate. It had been several minutes since Akko left on her venture when Diana thought she spotted her, turned around and staring at a restaurant. It seemed like the snack was not enough for her insatiable love. Struck with a random and rare romantic whim, Diana decided to sneak up on her girlfriend, and hug her from behind. So she did just that, pouncing on Akko and wrapping her arms around her waist.

"Hello there Miss Kagari," Diana said in a somewhat sultry voice. "Hungry? Got tired of waiting?"

She had expected Akko to respond with a surprised squeak, and maybe follow it up with an adorable bout of embarrassment and a flustered excuse.

Only that was not the response she received. What she got instead was a surprised scream, followed by a decidedly more masculine voice then the one that belonged to her love speaking very rapidly and very angrily in Japanese. Turns out she hadn't snuck up on her girlfriend at all. No Diana Cavendish had the great pleasure to make her first interaction with Akko's parents be one where it looked as if she decided to assault their son Kaito.

Thankfully Akko was nearby and was able to quickly explain and somewhat smooth over the incident while Diana felt her very soul leave her body. The Kagari's were very understanding, well except maybe for Kaito, and accepted Diana's apology easily. Akko's father found the whole fiasco quite humorous.

"I told you to change up your hairstyle Kaito!" Hayato said through a booming laugh. "You look too much like your sister for your own good!"

Of course Diana had seen Akko's family many times since then, each one going off without any major issue. Yet that first meeting, that incident at the airport still haunted Diana's mind anytime she was set to interact with the Kagaris. As she stepped out of the car and followed her excitable girlfriend up to the door of her parent's home, Diana's worry returned with a vengeance. If there was anytime she couldn't mess up in front of Akko's parents, it was now. Akko believed this trip to be a simple visit. For Diana, it was much more important. Sometime over the course of their week spent in Japan, Diana was going to ask Akko's parents for her hand in marriage.

She was aware of the fact that the concept was a bit outdated, and was seen in a generally negative light nowadays, but it was the way of the Cavendish family and goddamnit maybe sometimes Diana liked being old fashioned.

Akko knocked at the door eagerly and stood back, practically buzzing in place as she waited for it to open. It wasn't long until they heard a voice through the door.

"I told you salesmen to go away, I don't want to buy any!" Hayato's voice had a playful tone to it.

"Dad! It's us!" Akko responded with a giggle.

The door to the Kagari household swung open to reveal Hayato Kagari standing in the doorway.

"Well would you look at that! It wasn't a salesman at all! Just and adorable bunny and her wonderful girlfriend."

Akko practically tackled her father as she leapt forward to hug him.

"Tadaima!" Akko said through a bout of laughter.

"Okaeri," her father responded in turn.

Akko's father was a very kind and goofy man, standing no taller than Akko herself. If not for the grey in his hair and the lines on his face, he could easily be mistaken for a man much younger. He was energetic, much like his daughter and the ruby red eyes he shared with her more often than not were warm and welcoming.

"Hayato, who was at the door?" Akko's mother's voice drifted in from the kitchen. "Was it the girls? Are they here yet?"

"Yes honey! It's them! Cool it in the kitchen for a bit and come to greet your daughter will yah?"

There came an annoyed "hmph!" in response before Kumiko Kagari entered the living room, wiping her hands on a towel.

Akko's mother was fairly opposite from her father. While still a wonderfully polite woman, she was much more reserved and would scold her excitable husband and daughter when necessary. She was a good deal taller than Akko and her father and had pale, green eyes. The only physical features she shared with her daughter was her brown hair, and rounded face. Although a year older than her husband, pretty much anyone would agree Kumiko looked younger.

"Atsuko!" Kumiko said as she wrapped her daughter in a hug. "Oh it feels like ages since we last saw you!"

"Mom, It's only been a couple of months…"

"Someday, if you're ever a mother you will understand why that feels like ages," Kumiko retorted.

"Hello Miss Kagari, Mr. Kagari. It's a pleasure to see you again," Diana greeted, figuring now was a good time to do so.

Hayato turned to her with a smile. "Oh Diana, always so formal eh?"

"Well I-" was all Diana got out before she received a similar hug to the one Akko got.

"Dontcha know you don't have to be so stiff around us by now? You're practically family!" Hayato said. "And you're Japanese has gotten so good! I can't even tell you're not a native speaker."

"Hayato! Put the poor girl down, you're making her uncomfortable!" Kumiko said commandingly.

"Oops! Sorry Diana. Got carried away there," Akko's father said, releasing her from his hug.

"That's quite alright," Diana said, giving him a smile. "It makes me happy to know you see me as such."

"Say, Mom," Akko interjected. "Where's Kaito?"

"I sent him to the store a little a while ago to pick up some ingredients I still needed," Kumiko explained.

"Yeah you're mother is really going overboard with dinner today. Halfway through making the main course and she decides she's gonna serve soup too. She's been sending your brother back and forth all day."

"It's not 'overboard,' Hayato. Our daughter lives halfway across the world. Excuse me if I want to make sure dinner is special when she comes home."

"Still! You spend so much time in that kitchen it's almost like you live halfway across the world. Sometimes I think you love the stove more than me."

Akko laughed as her parent's started a strange sort of playful bickering. Diana couldn't help but laugh at the antics too. She thought back to Hayato's earlier words, how she was considered part of the family. She smiled as she watched Kumiko gesture angrily at her husband with a wooden spoon. It felt nice, having parents again.

"Tadaima!" Came a call from the front door, as Akko's brother returned. "Who's car is in the driveway?"

"It's ours!" Akko replied with an excited shout as she tackled her brother in a similar fashion to the way she greeted her dad. "Okaeri, Kaito!"

"Argh! Akko! Get offa me!" Kaito said struggling to remove his elder sister.

"Oh come on! Don't pretend like you aren't happy to see me!" Akko said, releasing her brother and ruffling his hair.

Kaito smacked away her hand, but had a smile on his face as he fixed his hair. "Yeah, Yeah...It's good to see you again Akko."

"Heard mom had you playing errand boy. Just like when we were kids."

Kaito rolled his eyes. "You don't know the half of it. If i have to go back to the marketplace one more time, I swear old man Ryuo is gonna assume I'm making some kinda cry for help."

The two siblings broke into a bit of shared laughter...one that ended semi abruptly when Kaito's eyes meet Diana's own.

"Good evening Kaito," Diana said.

"Hello Diana," he responded curtly, and somewhat dead pan.

Diana knew that Kaito didn't quite like her. After how they first met, she couldn't blame him for holding a little resentment, but she had an inkling that the issue went further. According to Akko, the two siblings were very close growing up as kids. When Akko made the announcement to her family that she wanted to go to school overseas, Kaito got fairly upset. Akko even said that the siblings relationship strained somewhat in the months leading up to her departure. If Diana had to hazard a guess, even factoring out their strange first encounter, Kaito saw Diana as a representation of everything that made Akko move away.

That was just a guess, but really the only guess she had. Diana grew up learning to read people to an absurd level of perfection, yet she could never tell just what Akko's brother was thinking. It really was striking, just how much Kaito resembled his older sister. Everything from their height, general body build, shape of their face, and hair color were nearly identical. It didn't help that Kaito like wearing his hair fairly long. The only real way to tell the two apart was their voice and eye color. Kaito had his mother's striking green rather than his father's red. It was honestly hard to believe they weren't twins.

Now if only Kaito shared his sister's friendly personality. Thankfully, before things could get truly awkward, Kumiko called out from the kitchen.

"Dinner is almost ready! Everyone wash-up and then get you butts to the dining room stat!"

No arguments were made as the other members of the house did just that. The Kagari's 'dining room,' was really just a nice table situated in a corner of their living room. Akko had long since explained that the act of referring to it as its own proper room was a family in-joke. Once everyone was seated, Kumiko arrived, balancing various plates of food on her arms. Diana would have offered to help, but had learned the hard way that Kumiko Kagari never accepted help in the kitchen, carrying dishes to the table or otherwise.

"I'd be careful with the curry Diana," Kumiko said to her once she was seated. "I know you aren't the best with spicy foods. I may have made it with a bit too much kick."

"Thank you for the warning," Diana said with a nervous chuckle.

For awhile, Dinner had been going great. Akko talked excitedly with her parents, cramming as much of her day to day happenings as she could into her rapid fire sentences. Hayato kept the atmosphere at the table light telling jokes, and much to Akko's charging, sharing embarrassing stories from her past. Every once in awhile, Kumiko would chime in with her two cents. Kaito largely stayed silent, but would laugh along with his family whenever he found something funny. Yup, it was a typical dinner with the Kagari family. Just like ones Diana had shared with them before. She had been a bit on edge what with her secret objective but as the Dinner went on, Diana felt herself begin to relax. Everything was going great.

"I still don't see why you went and bought a house," Kumiko said to her daughter. "Diana's family owns a mansion, a mansion Atsuko! Think of all the space you could've had!"

"Moooooom, I told you," Akko said with a roll of her eyes. "Diana didn't want to live in the mansion her whole life. Besides, I'm more comfortable in our house then a big place like that anyway."

"What makes you not want to live there?" Hayato asked Diana.

"Well, I have a lot of complicated feelings towards my family home. One's I'd rather not associate my relationship with," Diana explained as politely as she could.

It would do her no good to explode into a rant about her aunt or reminisce about her mother.

"Well I can understand wanting to make your own life, trust me," Kumiko said. "But giving up such a big living space for it? I mean a manor like that is the perfect place to raise a family! If you ever have children you might get crowded in that current house of yours."

Diana nearly choked on her food.

"Mom!" Akko said, a blush staining her face.

"Oh come on. I said 'if,' not 'when," Kumkio replied with a wave of her hand. "Besides, you want children eventually right Diana?"

Diana felt her earlier nervousness return with a vengeance.

"Um, well, I suppose-"

"Wait a minute, is that even possible?" Kaito interjected. "They're both women."

Diana doubted it was her sake, but used to opportunity to shovel some food into her mouth. Hopefully that would keep the question from being directed at her.

"Please Kaito, don't be silly. Adopting children is always a possibility. Besides, they're witches," Kumiko said in a know-it-all kind of way. "I know they have ways to conceive children between women. I wasn't born yesterday."

Diana swallowed her food, but immediately went for another bite. This was definitely not. Where she wanted this conversation to go. It was much too proposal adjacent for her tastes.

"Can't be worrying about kids yet Kumiko! The weddings gotta come first!" Hayato said with a loud laugh.

Akko groaned in annoyance. Diana felt like she was starting to sweat.

"You're getting married?" Kaito asked Diana flatly.

Diana swallowed the food in her mouth before responding with a waver "Well, no, but-"

"But you do plan to don't you?" Kumiko asked pointedly "Marry my daughter I mean."

"Mom, stop." Akko said "This isn't an interrogation."

"Nobody's interrogating anyone Akko. Your mothers just curious."

Diana felt her face starting to heat up. Was it always this hot in here? She tried to ignore it and kept eating.

"Weddings are important Atsuko. I just want to get an idea of when I should expect one."

"You'll know when I know!" Akko said to her mother.

"Is that soon?" Kaito asked dryly, again directly to Diana.

Yeah. He definitely didn't like her. Diana tried to act natural, taking a couple of more bites of food before responding.

"Uh, Diana," Akko said, trying to get her girlfriends attention.

She had a feeling that her girlfriend was trying to save her from having to answer, but Diana was determined to tackle this herself. If she appeared to be nervous about marrying Akko, her parents would never sign off on her proposal.

"It's hard to say. It's definitely a goal, after all I love Akko, but I don't know if I could-"

"Diana," Akko tried again.

"I mean trying to nail such a specific time frame is-"

"Diana!" Akko shouted.

Diana finally snapped her attention to Akko, freezing mid sentence holding her spoon above her plate.

"You know you've been eating mom's super spicy curry right?"

Slowly, Diana looked to the food she had been shoveling into her mouth in her attempts to appear nonchalant. Ah. so she was. The sweating and sudden increase in temperature made sense now. Suddenly the effect of the curry all hit Diana at once, and she felt like she was on fire. She remembered shooting up from her seat in a panic, remembered Akko shouting something, Kumiko steering her into the kitchen, and then drinking an inordinate amount of milk.

Diana felt like an idiot. For the second time, she had utterly embarrassed herself in front of Akko's family. She slid to the kitchen floor, defeat written across her face. She could hear Akko's voice coming from the living room. From what Diana could hear, she wasn't happy. Diana brought her knees up her face and rested her head against them. She felt like a child. She wasn't a nervous teenage girl, meeting her girlfriends parents for the first time, but that was exactly what she acted like. If she could have melted through the floor just then, she would have.

Diana heard someone enter the kitchen, and looked up, expecting it to be Akko. She was surprised to say in the least to see Kaito standing there instead. The youngest Kagari shuffled a bit awkwardly.

"Hey. Akko sent me here to check on you," he said, rubbing the back of his head nervously.

Even his mannerisms were similar to his sister's.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yes, I am now," Diana answered.

Kaito looked like he wanted to leave just then but instead let out a sigh and moved to sit next to Diana on the kitchen floor.

"Look, I'm sorry for earlier," He said after a second.

Sorry? For what? That she made herself look stupid.

"I hardly see what you have to be sorry about," Diana responded. "It's not like you forced me to eat the curry."

"No but anyone could see you only did that because we were making you nervous," Kaito said. "And that, was at least partially my fault."

Huh, he was a perceptive one wasn't he.

"Honestly I thought you would be enjoying this. A chance to see the girlfriend you dislike make a fool of herself?"

Diana didn't know why she said that. She usually had more tact for things of this nature, but after everything that had just happened, maybe she didn't have the patience for tact.

"I don't dislike you," Kaito said.

Diana merely raised an eyebrow at him.

"Okay well I did...maybe I still do a little, I don't know," Kaito stammered. He rubbed his head again. "It's not like I don't like you as a person or anything Diana… It's just…"

He tapered off the thought.

"Just, what?" Diana pressed.

"Akko and I have been partners in crime for pretty much forever. I guess I just got kinda mad when she decided to move away. I thought, at the very least, she was gonna come back once she graduated you know?" Kaito paused to take a breath.

"But then she met you, and the next thing I know she's living halfway across the world for probably the rest of her life. I don't hate you Diana...I just hate not getting to hangout with my sister. Anyone that reminds me my best friend moved away is gonna make me a little cranky. That's all."

Silence fell between the two. Until Diana broke it with a laugh. Here they were, two adults, both with such childish problems.

"You know what, Kaito? I understand," She said, turning to Akko's brother with a smile. She saw him blink in surprise as she held out her hand to him. "But maybe we can move past that?"

Kaito shot her a grin that would have looked perfectly at home on Akko, and shook her hand.

"Deal."

There was another pause, although this time Kaito broke it.

"You were gonna ask my folks if you could marry her, weren't you?"

Again, perceptive.

"I was."

Kaito stood, stretching his legs a bit before walking to the kitchen door.

"Don't bother. The answers gonna be yes. They consider you a part of this family more than my dad's own brother, although that might be because he nuts," Kaito said, turning to look to her with a smile.

"That's not exactly a high vote of confidence," Diana responded.

"You love her, right?" He asked.

"With all my heart," Diana instantly responded.

"Then you'll be fine," Kaito said as he walked out.

Akko walked in right as her brother left. Instantly she was at Diana's side, and pressed a much needed kiss to her lips.

"You doin okay?" Akko asked worriedly, running her hand through Diana's hair.

Diana smiled. "Yeah, I am. And you know what Akko? I think I finally got your brother to like me."


	7. Day 7: Freeday

**It's Finally here, day 7! Sorry for it being so late. I can't stress enough how much this stupid hurricane has thrown a wrench in my writing schedule...and my day to day life schedule as well! Thank you for your patience!**

**This little blurb comes from an AU idea that I've had for awhile, but never really had the time to flesh out or make in full. In the AU, Diana is the princess of Lunovia and is set to become it's queen. Her aunt wants to contest her challenge to the throne however, and means to start a civil war!**

**Realizing that her splintered support of her people and troops isn't enough to defeat her aunt, Diana travels to the distant country of Niohnja where the emperor, an old friend of her mother's, has offered his aid. While traveling through the country to the capital city, Diana meets the mysterious samurai, Atsuko Kagari.**

* * *

There was truth to the old saying, that it was hard to rest easy in a bed that was not your own. Diana sat on a fallen tree, not far from the now extinguished campfire, staring up at the sky full of stars. It was a quiet night, interrupted only by the light snoring coming from her companions. Diana turned to look at Hannah and Barabra, both of whom appeared sound asleep in their bed rolls. Diana knew better though. If she made and kind of noise, any calls of alarm, her two retainers would be awake in an instant, swords drawn and shields raised. Diana could see the moonlight glint off of their scabbards, revealing just how close the two knights kept their blades.

Diana wished she could join them in actually getting some sleep, but after tossing and turning for the last two hours she was pretty sure that wasn't going to happen. It made sense, Hannah and Barabra may be her personal guards, but they were also royal knights. They had been trained under harsh, unforgiving conditions. The two of them would be used to sleeping outdoors in a forgien land. Diana's upbringing as Lunovia's crown princess didn't really prepare her for such rigours. Diana sighed as she turned back to the stars. She was so focused on the sky that she didn't hear the last of her group walked up behind her.

"Can't sleep?" Came the accented voice.

Diana whirled around on her seat, her self-defense dagger half drawn. She felt the tension in her body leave when she realised who the voice had come from. Akko had her hands raised in defense, a goofy smile on her face.

"Whoop. Sorry Diana. I didn't mean to scare you," Akko said with a chuckle.

The samurai girl gave her short but respectful bow, before coming to take a seat on the ground next to her. Diana watched as Akko folded her legs under herself. Diana had no idea how the people of Niohnja could sit like that for so long. The most Diana could manage was an hour.

"Do you always sneak up on compatriots when they are fearing ambush," Diana asked with a huff.

"No, just on the jumpy foreigners," Akko said with a grin.

Diana scoffed and looked back to the sky. She didn't quite know how to feel about the mysterious samurai girl. She had appeared early on in their journey. Diana, Hannah, and Barabra had been in the Niohnja for only a few hours when they were accosted by a bandit troupe. The bandits thankfully gave no indication that they knew who Diana was, just that they could tell she was a forgnier. Hannah and Barabra had their swords drawn in seconds, moving themselves to be between the thieves and herself the best they could. The two knights, as trained as they were, were outnumbered. Combined with how unfamiliar they were with Niohnjan fighting styles, and Diana had begun to fear a dangerous outcome. She had total faith in her retainers, but didn't see how they could get out of this unscathed.

Akko had come to the rescue, in a sense. For some reason, the sight of the samurai alone sent the bandits packing. From there on, the Niohnjan woman joined their party and offered to help escort them to the capital. Diana was weary of the girl at first, but warmed up to her as they traveled. Akko carried an air of levity about her. She told jokes, stories about the land and its people and shared songs around the campfire. Diana could tell Hannah and Barabra found her annoying, but Diana couldn't help but find her endearing. It was strange, thinking about how a girl like Akko could possibly ever be a samurai, let alone one so fierce brigands ran at the sight of her. Diana glanced to the woman sitting next to her.

Akko definitely didn't look the part of a menacing samurai. With her friendly rounded face, goofy ponytail and large ruby eyes, Akko looked about as threatening as a puppy. Her clothes didn't help much either. She didn't wear any ornamental armor or the like, just a tattered, long, red and white robe, open at her left shoulder to revealing a set of bandages wrapped around her chest. The garb gave her the air of a former aristocrat, down on her luck. Even now, as Akko sat next to her, the childlike wonder that shone in the girl's eyes showed no sign of the battle hardened readiness that Hannah and Barabra had.

"Do I have something on my face?" Akko asked.

Diana felt a blush heat up her face. She didn't realize she had been staring. Something about Akko just made it hard to look away.

"Why are you helping us?" Diana decided to ask out of the blue. For some reason, she felt like she needed to know.

Akko sighed. "I told you. I was on my way back to the capital anyway and you guys look like you could use the help."

"Really? Out of the kindness of your heart?"

"Well, sure," Akko replied. "It's not like I wanna hurt you or need money or anything. I just wanted to help. What better reason could I need?"

The frank way Akko said it, like it was the most obvious thing in the world, shocked Diana. In that moment, it really clicked with Diana that for the woman sitting next to her, helping people in need really was just basic nature.

"What...kind of samurai are you?" Diana asked incredulously. "I can count the number of truly virtuous warriors I've met on one hand. Yet here you are, after showing up out of the blue, claiming that you want to help us just because it feels like the right thing to do."

Akko laughed. "Yeah it does sound kinda lucky when you put it that way, doesn't it?" The samurai stood and stretched before letting out a yawn. "Who knows, maybe the two of us were destined to meet."

Diana cursed as she felt her heart flutter at the cheesy line. She watched as the other woman walked back to their campsite before plunking down to the ground. Akko leaned up against a tree, her katana resting by her side.

"You should try and get some rest Diana," Akko called back towards her. "It'll be a long hike to the capital tomorrow. I'll wake you guys at sunrise."

Diana nodded before moving to lay down on her bed roll. It would have been easy to let their conversation end there. Diana, for some reason didn't want it to. Something was bothering her, as question eating at the back of her mind.

"Akko, once we get to the capital...what do you plan to do?"

Akko looked up in thought, bringing her hand under her chin. It was obvious she was being careful about picking her words.

"I got business I have to take care of, someone I have to report to," the brunette woman finally responded. "I've got a friend that runs a good inn, very welcoming to foreigners. Once I introduce you to her, I'll probably be on my way."

"I see," Diana responded.

A wide grin stretched across Akko's face. "Why? Are you gonna miss me Diana? Don't want me to go?"

"Don't be ridiculous!" Diana said angrily.

With a huff, she turned her back to Akko. She hated how right Akko was and how much she really didn't want to part ways with the mysterious yet charming woman.

"I'll probably miss you," Akko said at a whisper.

Diana figured the samurai hadn't meant for her to hear it. She probably thought Diana had stopped listening and was trying to sleep. Unfortunately for both of them, Diana had heard it, and as the words dug into her rapidly beating heart, Diana accepted that she really wasn't going to get any sleep tonight.


End file.
